Town or village greens
A Town or Village Green is usually an area of land within a defined settlement that is used by the local people for sport and recreation. This could include organised or informal games, picnics and village events. Some greens may also have rights of common over them.
The Welsh Government has advised that as of 5th May 2017, members of the public will be able to apply to make changes to the Register of Common Land in Wales, if they believe that it is incorrect and have evidence to support that. Go to our How to search, amend and view the Commons Register page to find out more.
Registers of Common Land and Town - or Village Greens
The Council is responsible for maintaining a Register of Common Land and a Register of Town or Village Greens and currently holds the registers compiled by the three former counties of Breconshire, Radnorshire and Montgomeryshire.
The registers were compiled, under the Commons Registration Act 1965, between 1967 and 1970 and contain information about all the registered common land and village greens in Powys.
Every area of registered land is listed in the registers under a unique Unit (CL or VG) Number. The registers also show if there are any rights of common over the land and record details of claims to ownership.
We can give information about procedures but we can't give legal advice. If you need legal advice or an interpretation of the law, a solicitor will be able to help.
Commons Registration Search - Q22 CON29(0)
To make an official search of the commons registers, you will need to use Question 22.1 and 22.2 in the widely-used conveyancing form, known as 'CON 29(O) Optional Enquiries of the Local Authority'.
Question 22.1 reads: "Is the property, or any land which abuts the property, registered common land or town or village green under the Commons Registration Act 1965 or Commons Act 2006?"
A CON29(O) commons search enquiry only shows whether a parcel of land or property is registered as common land or as town or village green in the Official Registers. If you want to know whether a parcel of land or property has the benefit of grazing rights over any adjoining or nearby common land please contact Commons Registration for details. Please note that there will be a fee for copies of register entries and maps.
For more information, please see the Land Charges search
View the Register
You can view the statutory Registers and Register Maps, free of charge, during normal office hours.
A prior appointment is necessary to ensure that an Officer is on hand to help you with your enquiry.
The Registers and Maps are held at our offices at The Gwalia, Llandrindod Wells.
Fees and Charges
For information about official searches of the Commons Register, please see the information about Commons Registration searches.
- A4/A3 extract from the Map Register - minimum £6.00
- Copies of Register Information - minimum £6.00
- Investigation of Register Information - minimum £20.00 + VAT
Please submit your request in writing and enclose a plan to identify the land concerned. Payments can be made by cheque or by Credit/Debit card over the telephone.
Registering a "New" Town or Village Green
The closing date for registering land under the Commons Registration Act 1965 was the 31st July 1970. Failure to register meant that the land was no longer a town or village green for registration purposes.
However, since the 1st August 1990 it became possible to register land as a 'new' town or village green under the 'twenty year rule'. There are new procedures under Section 15 of the Commons Act 2006.
There is currently no fee for making an application.
Making an application
In order to meet the 'twenty-year rule' applicants must be able to provide evidence that:
- The land has been used for recreation by a significant number of inhabitants of any locality or neighbourhood within a locality.
- The recreational use of the land has been: as of right
'As of right' is usually interpreted to mean that the people using the land didn't use force (e.g. didn't have to break in), didn't use the land in secret and didn't ask anyone's permission to use it.'
- The recreational use of the land has been for: lawful sports and pastimes
- The recreational use on the land has been: for a period of at least 20 years; and it continues up to the date of application; or an application is made within two years from the date the recreational use ended.
Application for the registration of land as a Town or Village Green - Form 44 (PDF) [163KB]
More information about these criteria can be found in the Welsh Government's guidance notes
Legal notices
Commons Registration notices:
We will tell you about legal procedures that are in progress in relation to the registers of Common Land and Town or Village Greens on our page called 'Commons registration - Legal Notices'
